Vivendi to Distribute 60% of UMG to Shareholders in Spinoff by Year End

   By Kim Richters 
 

Vivendi SA said Saturday that it aims to distribute 60% of subsidiary Universal Music Group's share capital to shareholders and list the music label in Amsterdam by the end of the year.

"Vivendi's leading institutional shareholders have been pressing for a number of years for a split or the distribution of Universal Music Group (UMG) to reduce Vivendi's conglomerate discount," the European media giant said in a statement.

Vivendi had announced plans for a listing of the subsidiary around a year ago and now said it had set a minimum target of 30 billion euros ($36.36 billion) for the subsidiary's enterprise value.

The distribution would be in the form of a special dividend, and UMG, which is based in the Netherlands, would seek to list on the Euronext stock exchange in Amsterdam, Vivendi said.

It has received an initial favorable response from the Tencent Holdings Ltd.-led consortium, which owns 20% of share capital in UMG, and a shareholders' meeting will be held to vote on the steps, the company said.

Meanwhile, Vivendi proposed an ordinary dividend of EUR0.60 a share for fiscal year 2020.

Write to Kim Richters at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 15, 2021 02:20 ET (07:20 GMT)

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